Calamity Maude Rides Into Town

By John J. Law

James Morgan was a notorious gunslinger, until the love of a good woman made him change his ways. Sadly, soon after the birth of their son, his wife Jenna passed away. James tried to drink the pain away, but finally decided that he had to be strong for his son, as well as himself.

They moved to the small town of Dusty Hill where the former gunslinger became sheriff and had soon cleaned up the town, making it safe for his son. But complacency set in and Sheriff Morgan wanted more. He wanted someone to share in his and his son's life.

As it often does, fate stepped in and while picking up some discarded newspaper, James found himself staring at a photo and advertisement. Maude was looking for a husband, and James knew it was written in the stars for them to meet and marry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Mar 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224972166

Book preview

Chapter One

A New Beginning

Everything started with those letters. Yeah, when I really think about it now, it was all 'cause of those letters I decided to write to Maude. Maude was the woman who would change my life, but when I was sitting there in the middle of the afternoon watching my kid play with the other boys, well I just had no idea. No idea at all. Well, I am digressing. I am a lawman and upholding the law is my chosen profession, not writing, so you'll just have to bear with me if the writing isn't all that classy.

Let me start from the beginning so you won't get all confused. The name's James Morgan, and I used to be a gunslinger in my younger days. Yeah, it's just as the term says so, and don't you go believing any of that nonsense some silly writers say. The era of the gunslinger was not peaceful or easy-going in any way. No, just because such days are slowly passing, some crazy mythmakers are out to make it look as if all cowboys ever did was just lie back on rocking chairs during lazy afternoons, as the day passed. They say that there were strict gun control laws in each town and that duels and gunfights were few and far between, that generally the period of the old West was calm and lazy. From someone who lived through it, let me tell you that's all hogwash! There was never a rougher and more violent time in our great nation than that time. I should know. I was a gunslinger, and I shot and killed my fair share of men. I robbed men of their horses, their money, and even got into a few scrapes over whiskey. Now that I'm old and infirm, I regret most of those scraps I got into. I regret a lot of things in my life, but I sure don't regret marrying Jenna Watson and later on, writing to Maude.

When I married Jenna, it marked a turning point in my life. I had rode with a lot of unruly types and had been on the run from the law more times than I cared to count. Jenna changed all of that. When I met her, she sparked something inside of me. Something that spurred me to change my ways. All of a sudden, I had a good and decent woman who loved and cared for me. That fact was enough incentive for me to turn a new leaf before my lawlessness caught up to me.

Yes, Jenna changed my life in many wonderful ways. We immediately got married, and I never regretted the decision to tie the knot with her. We were happily married, and she gave me a wonderful boy that we named Edwin Tobias. We often talked about having many children and raising them all right by God. We had dreams of even putting up a nice little business